Colleen’s Blog

Chris and I are working on an interesting project helping a client provide transformation technology to the hospitality industry. We recently spent a week in Japan, a country known for their hospitality. Our week abroad has provided us insights about where North American businesses can improve their customer experiences. Here are my top 3 tips for you:

The best salespeople are constantly looking for ways to improve. They are not staying static for extended periods of time because, let’s face it, if you’re not moving forward - you’re moving backwards! There’s almost nothing better than reaching (or exceeding) all of your sales goals for the year. A certain feeling of accomplishment is natural, and should be embraced! However, will you be satisfied if your numbers stay the same next year? Are you doing anything to improve upon your past accomplishments? The answer for many salespeople is no. They often work hard to create temporary success and soon after end up in a worse situation than they were before because they allow temporary accomplishments to hinder their work ethic. Here are two things you can do to improve upon your current success:

Is your business experiencing wild swings in revenue? This may surprise you, but putting too much emphasis on closing business is actually counterproductive to increasing your revenues. What?! Let me explain. Every time you close a sale you should be adding three to four more leads to your pipeline. When you’re concentrating too much on closing business it detracts focus from gaining new leads. Before long, you will have no new leads to close business with, and this is what causes swings in revenue or sales whiplash...as I like to call it! Don't worry, dear sellers, there are ways to avoid this. Are you wondering how you can attain consistent sales?

Is your sales team actively seeking out referrals from your current client base? According to recent studies, 78% of happy clients want to give out referrals. Yet only 8% of salespeople actually ask for them. Can you see the disconnect? It doesn't take a math genius to figure out that many salespeople are missing out on key opportunities to increase their sales and grow their businesses. How many of these opportunities are slipping through the fingers of your sales team?

When meeting with prospects or high level decision makers, many salespeople focus on the wrong type of conversation. Your average salesperson will spend hours preparing sheets that outline their product’s features, benefits, pricing and other details. They practice their pitch, and at times have a lengthy speech rehearsed. While preparation is never a bad thing, the successful salesperson understands the value of focusing on the correct aspect of the presentation.

Want to accelerate your sales this year, but unsure which sales skill to make a priority and develop among your sales reps? If I had to choose one to suggest to you, it would be prospecting. Now, let's dive a little bit deeper to specifically the kind of prospecting I'm talking about.

Get creative. That's my advice for any business owner or sales leader about to embark on a new phase of recruiting. Far too many leaders stick to the same old, same old when it comes to their recruitment process and trying to find great talent to join their team. It's surprising to see how many organizations stick with ads in the paper, online postings and even using the same recruiters they've used in the past. They don't switch things up! The result? The same tired and boring resumes that keeping flocking in. Sure - you may find a great hire in that pile of resumes. But, generally speaking, if you want to find a "stand out" candidate, don't use a worn out process to try and attract them. Here's how you can add a little creativity to your hiring process:

When professionals in virtually every industry think about "compensation" - especially when it comes to structuring compensation plans, rarely is anything but a dollar sign considered. Yet, there's another powerful way to provide commissions to your sales team, and you're likely overlooking it or underestimating its power and value.

Like many professional sellers, I travel all the time. Having racked up over 225,000 miles over two major airlines last year you could say that my most used office space is seat 3D. Air Canada and America are my preferred choices and I am always pleased with the levels of service they provide their elite fliers. Concierge service, priority numbers, access to the best seats and best flights, upgrades, free food and drinks - it really does pay to be a top tier with these two airliners. I need to be productive when I travel. For me, that means a business class seat for room and privacy, power, and WiFi. After all, this is my office! This month, I was surprised to be be missing key elements from these requirements with both carriers.

Response rates are critical in sales. After all, if you can't get a buyer to respond to a call or an email...you can't start a relationship let alone close a sale. Smart sellers know that email marketing to a warm list of buyers is a profitable way to both keep in touch with your current customers as well as attracting new buyers. That being said, you must pay attention to a few rules to ensuring your emails are responded to positively.